Annual event comes just after a key deadline for federal-Alberta pipeline agreement. With the countdown to the Alberta referendum started, Prime Minister Mark Carney's governing caucus will be out in stronger numbers than usual at the Calgary Stampede. Dozens are expected in attendance, after months of lobbying by his few Alberta MPs. "This year, months in advance, I mentioned it...
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals would likely win another majority despite trade tensions with the U.S. and national unity concerns at home, polls suggest. According to The Signal, the Star’s poll aggregator, Carney’s Liberals, who currently have 173 MPs in the 343-member House of Commons, would win between 171 and 213 seats — with median tally of 191 — on...
International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu says more relief from Beijing’s tariffs that remain on Canadian canola, peas and seafood will be on the negotiating table when he meets with his Chinese counterpart in the fall. The meeting will likely take place in November in Shenzhen, GD. the site of this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC) hosted by China. Earlier...
Defence contractor says their aircraft would create 1,100 maintenance jobs in Canada. One of the leading competitors to sell Canada early warning surveillance aircraft says it was caught off guard by the decision of Prime Minister Mark Carney's government to open contract negotiations with European defence giant Saab. Three companies — two American, one Swedish — were in the running...
A senior executive at German submarine builder TKMS says a joint proposal with Norway to supply 12 submarines for Canada would be more compatible with the country than a rival South Korean option, in part because the European vessel construction group’s working language is English. In a recent post on LinkedIn, the executive, Philipp Schön, said Canadians should consider which...
Only 27% think - in the end - Canada will be worse off than before the Trump tariff conversation started. For more than a year, Canadians have paid a great deal of attention to the Trump Administration and the trade conversation the US President has triggered with his wave of tariffs and talk of annexation.
The latest Leger federal polling shows a stable federal landscape: the Liberals continue to lead nationally, the Conservatives hold their ground, and Canadians’ assessment of the Carney government remains more positive than negative. Among decided voters, the Liberals hold 48% support, followed by the Conservatives at 34%. The NDP and Bloc Québécois each stand at 6%, while the Green Party...
Six years ago, Mark Carney set out to discover his own grand unified theory of everything — or, at least, of why houses became so expensive. Then the governor of the Bank of England, Carney thought there could be a way to align government and bank policy which, borrowing a phrase from Sir Isaac Newton, would “protect the economy from...
Inflation has surged to its highest level in years, Statistics Canada announced Monday, and we can rightly blame U.S. President Donald Trump and his war in Iran for the oil-fueled increase.
Record participation in a team-Canada trade mission to Japan has resulted in more than $1 billion in commercial investments signed between Canadian and Japanese companies. On Thursday, International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu beamed as he watched executives from more than a dozen companies participate in signing ceremonies. Sidhu said the historic trade mission has delivered “landmark results” resulting in over...
The federal government signed $5.4 billion-worth of procurement contracts identified as “not for public disclosure” last year, the IJF has learned. In an email to the IJF, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) confirmed it was involved in awarding 1,896 contracts identified as “not for public disclosure” in the 2025/2026 fiscal year. This includes contracts awarded directly by PSPC or...
Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon’s recent acknowledgment that new legislation may be needed to accelerate approvals for major projects is an admission of long-standing failure. Canada’s regulatory system for infrastructure and resource development has become slow, uncertain, and politicized. While Ottawa now speaks of one or two year approval windows and continues expanding entities like the Major Projects Office, deeper...
It is patently unfair that the Carney government has announced plans to bail out condo developers in British Columbia, without even a mention of the struggling venture capitalists in Ontario, the hedge fund managers in Quebec, and the corporate CEOs in Alberta.
Parliament has risen for the summer, and it is yet again a key time for political parties to tend to all-important local political concerns that ultimately drive the successes or failures of Members of Parliament. For Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Liberals—except for flag waving around the World Cup and big hopes that Canada goes on a run on...
To be a successful leader in politics, you need a few things: a vision for the country, a plan to realize it and an ability to articulate why you are the right person to lead the journey. British prime minister Keir Starmer possesses none of these things. That’s why he’s been forced to resign his post. It’s expected he’ll be...
In economics, the concept of “moral hazard” describes a situation where an individual or institution is more likely to take reckless risks because they do not bear the negative consequences of those risks. It is an idea with which Prime Minister Mark Carney is very familiar, having been a vocal critic of the claim that banks were “too big to...
Donald Trump must enjoy what has now become diplomatic protocol for dealing with him on the world stage — namely, flattery and deference. Mark Carney caught on to it early, calling Trump a “transformational president” during his first White House sit-down with him more than a year ago.
British prime ministers have for the past 65 years had their public image satirized in Private Eye magazine, an often-unflattering pastiche that generally finds its way into the mainstream culture. From the outset of his time in No. 10 Downing Street, Keir Starmer — who on Monday announced plans to resign — was portrayed as a dull, indecisive, overly cautious...
Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty was just one seat shy of securing a third majority mandate when he led his party to win the 2011 Ontario election. It wasn’t a great result – the Liberals won 18 fewer seats than they had the previous election – but it was still a win, and Mr. McGuinty’s approval rating was a respectable (for...
British Columbia is Canada’s third-largest province. It has the country’s fourth-largest economy. And right now, it might be the single most overlooked and underappreciated member of Confederation. Alberta’s willingness to indulge a separatist temper tantrum is consuming most of the attention that’s not already dedicated to dealing with Donald Trump, and it has already elicited a number of policy concessions...
On this date in 2013, much of Calgary's downtown was underwater from the greatest flood ever to hit southern Alberta. City hall, with provincial help, worked furiously to make the Calgary Stampede happen. A slimmed-down version opened on schedule. It was a stunning feat of united action by governments and the Stampede, then led by CEO Vern Kimball.
Crackle! Sizzle! Roar! Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas is on fire. "A permit is not a free pass to keep people awake for 11 nights because someone powerful demands it. "Rick, you spoke up for years. You were told to call 311. You were told to wait while people with money, access and powerful friends expected city hall to look the other way.
The Cannabis Council of Canada has announced it is suspending its advocacy operation, apparently because its member companies have given up hope that the federal government is prepared to listen to them. In a letter to Finance Minister François Philippe Champagne that foreshadowed this week's announcement, outgoing council president Paul McCarthy said the country's licensed cannabis producers have lost confidence...
Mark Carney knows how to work a room. Twenty years of top-level international summitry as a finance mandarin, central banker and prime minister have honed that skill. More important: Carney knows how to read a room. In Davos earlier this year, attendees wanted to hear some sort of plan to contain U.S. President Donald Trump’s escalating insanity. So the prime...
No prime minister has the luxury of being able to worry about a single problem. But among Mark Carney’s many problems, one looms particularly large: managing Canada’s relationship with the United States and its president. And Carney faces a difficult question on that file: How flattering to Donald Trump can he dare to be? We saw some examples recently of...
Many Canadians fervently hope that the next midterm elections will return the United States to a state of political normalcy. But there is simply too much money, too much fear, and too much potential for political retribution embedded in the system to expect a rapid correction.
A referendum is looming in Alberta, which will reveal this fall how far the province is ready to go toward the independence option. For the rest of Canada, a big question revolves around how much are we willing to do to keep Alberta in the federation. Some new polling by Abacus Data may offer some insights into that question and...
As the Carney government wraps up the parliamentary sitting this week, political watchers may be forgiven for thinking they’ve entered a time warp. Opposition MPs — Conservatives prominently among them — stood in the House of Commons, sounding the alarm over Liberal attempts to shut down debate, halt committee studies, block witnesses and stop amendments. The government’s moves were an...
The memorandum of understanding Donald Trump cobbled together with Iran’s leadership may seem far removed from Canada’s negotiations over the future of CUSMA. However, the Iran deal, hastily concluded under intense economic pressure, offers three clear lessons for Ottawa: know your leverage, understand what truly frightens Trump, and resist the urge to fold too early. On paper, Iran and Canada...
The House of Commons adjourned its spring sitting on Thursday after Liberals used their recently acquired majority to push some bills through with unanimous consent. The Pulse Panel weighs in.
Mark Carney says Donald Trump’s peace deal with Iran is a “game changer.” If that game is Risk, then the U.S. president just rolled snake eyes, announced he didn’t want to play anymore and began eating some of the plastic soldiers. I remain perplexed as to why our prime minister continues to commend a war that has always been an...
You know things are getting a bit desperate when a politician starts cutting $100 “affordability” cheques to buy back a bit of political goodwill. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s decision to pass on a slice of the province's recent gas tax windfall directly to residents smacks of a payoff, and a paltry one at that.
They were the kind of words a parent might say to convince a child scrunching his nose at his birthday present that it’s really what he wanted: “I thought you’d actually like that.” In this case, the Prime Minister of Canada was speaking to the President of the United States. Mark Carney was trying to convince Donald Trump that a...
Prime Minister Mark Carney apparently has a patience problem. According to the Toronto Star’s Althia Raj, sources within the party complain that he raises his voice (or he yells, depending on the receiver) and openly shows his displeasure when caucus discussions veer into what he considers political navel-gazing. To career politicians accustomed to consensus-building, this behaviour feels abrasive. It is...
Whichever route Alberta picks for its proposed oil pipeline to the B.C. coast, the federal government will have to do a swift but thorough consultation with Indigenous Peoples to avoid time-consuming court challenges, all with a looming separation referendum hanging over the process.
The federal government and more than 1,000 federally appointed judges are at odds over the best way to settle an ongoing salary dispute, raising concerns in both the legal and political community that the case could end up tarnishing the judiciary's reputation. The government refused last year to grant judges a salary increase of $28,000 to $36,000, as proposed by an independent committee.
Military police failed to transfer almost 70 per cent of sexual offence cases over the past five years to civilian police, despite the government committing to doing so as it worked to pass a permanent change into law. New data shows military police held on to 595 out of 879 of these cases since 2021. "I find that disturbing to...
Most economists, including at the Bank of Canada, were a bit surprised when Statistics Canada reported late last month that the economy contracted slightly over the first three months of the year. The consensus estimate among economists and monetary policymakers was for real GDP growth of roughly 1.5 per cent annualized in the first quarter. When the figures actually showed...
News and cultural industry groups are calling on the government to take a stand on how AI systems use copyrighted content after Ottawa's long-awaited national AI strategy failed to address the issue. The Liberal government released a strategy earlier this month which includes $2.3 billion in new and expanded funding and sets a goal of increasing Canadians' use of artificial intelligence.
A prominent gun control advocacy group is repeating its call for an immediate end to new sales of SKS rifles following deadly shootings in Montreal. Police have not identified the type of firearm used to kill Montreal police officer Mohamed Lamine Benredouane and civilian bystander Michel Mizrahi this week. But images circulating online indicate a long gun lying on the...
The Trump administration has explicitly opposed any such charges levied against the big streaming firms, most of which are U.S.-based giants. Broadcasters and online streaming giants will still have to pay a fee to support Canadian media production despite the Carney government’s declaration it would reverse course on the so-called “Netflix tax,” the Star has learned. Amid ongoing Canada-U.S. trade...
The delayed opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge is now an issue in a closely watched Michigan Senate race as a Democrat hopeful blames the pause on U.S. President Donald Trump. In an ad launched Wednesday, candidate Mallory McMorrow says Trump won't open the Gordie Howe Bridge and accuses him of taking money from a billionaire family that owns...
Two Conservative MPs say leading a fundraising cruise for LGBTQ+ refugees is a tangible way for the party to advance the rights of gender and sexual minorities. "We're all God's creatures and we're all loved, and we all deserve to be loved and we all deserve to feel safe and secure," Scott Aitchison told The Canadian Press. "I believe that...
Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump today in advance of the NATO summit next month. Carney's office issued a one-sentence statement about today's call that does not say what the two leaders discussed. Turkey will host the annual summit July 7 to 8 in its capital Ankara. The summit comes after Trump launched a costly war...
Prime minister has said he wants to see his successors at the historic official residence. Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to announce the government's long-awaited decision about the future of 24 Sussex Drive in the coming weeks, sources tell CBC News. The derelict residence is meant to house Canada's prime ministers, but the 34-room home has been sitting vacant...
A poll commissioned by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce suggests almost half of its members are prepared to move their businesses out of Alberta if the province votes to separate from Canada. Probe Research conducted the online survey of 137 chamber members between June 8 and June 22. The poll comes as Albertans prepare for an October vote on 1...
Almost a year after the federal government's Bill C-5 was rushed through Parliament, Ottawa is finally looking to use its new powers to expedite projects deemed to be in the national interest. At an announcement in Yellowknife on Wednesday, three federal ministers identified two Arctic roads and a nuclear waste repository in Ontario as the first three proposals the federal...
Only 27% think - in the end - Canada will be worse off than before the Trump tariff conversation started. For more than a year, Canadians have paid a great deal of attention to the Trump Administration and the trade conversation the US President has triggered with his wave of tariffs and talk of annexation.
The delayed opening of a bridge connecting Michigan and Canada is spilling into one of the country's most closely watched Senate races, as Democratic candidate Mallory McMorrow launches the first major effort to turn the controversy into a political liability for President Donald Trump and Republicans. McMorrow's new ad, shared first with The Associated Press, accuses Trump of blocking the...
The Liberals continue to lead with 48 per cent support among decided voters, down two points since June 1. Prime Minister Mark Carney is going to be doing much more this summer than flipping burgers and pancakes.
Prime Minister Mark Carney‘s corporate past has prevented him from participating in at least 17 “situations” involving his own government, including discussions of a payout of up to $3.1 billion to support housing loans, the possible export of electricity to the United States, and the creation of this week’s new nuclear energy plan. The revelation is contained in letters that...
Prime Minister Mark Carney has tapped Morgan Breitkreutz, a veteran Liberal organizer, to quarterback his government’s response to the Alberta separatist referendum vote scheduled for October. Mr. Breitkreutz joined the Prime Minister’s Office this month as a senior special adviser. Before then, he was the chief of staff to Eleanor Olszewski, an Edmonton MP who has two ministerial roles for...
In mid-April, the federal government caught the country’s organized labour sector by surprise when it revealed plans to review the Canada Labour Code, the suite of laws that underpin work in federally regulated sectors, from airlines and railways to banks and telecoms. Ottawa called the review an attempt to “modernize the federal labour relations framework,” and its announcement included proposals...
Premier pushed back at questions from reporters about his poll numbers and an altered image of protesters at Ford Fest. Premier Doug Ford said he’d form a “super majority” if another election were held today, pushing back against reporters’ questions about falling poll numbers. “I saw different polls. But I'll tell you one thing: if the election was held today...
First Nations leaders and parliamentarians say the Liberals’ reintroduced clean water legislation is the latest example of what they describe as a “pick-and-choose” approach to the federal government’s duty to consult—invoking constitutional obligations to delay or dismiss action when it’s convenient, and sidelining them when decisions are already made.
Ottawa is expected to announce Wednesday that it will begin the process of designating two key Arctic infrastructure projects as being in the national interest, say government sources. The projects are the first Ottawa has signalled it will elevate to become projects of national interest under the Building Canada Act, which allows the government to fast-track approvals and allow them...
Statue is in storage as city debates whether it should be restored, modified or permanently removed. An imposing statue honouring Samuel de Champlain, which had stood on the shores of Lake Couchiching in Orillia, Ont., for 100 years, is now dismantled and moved out of sight. The founder of Quebec City is face down and wrapped in blue tarp. Some...
CBC News analysis finds IDF blasts caused damage deep underground. Families of Canadian servicemen buried in Gaza say they want the government to do more to protect their loved ones' remains. Some say they would like to see their relatives — the last Canadian soldiers to be buried overseas — removed from a cemetery that has been repeatedly damaged by...
Canada's goal of boosting trade with countries outside the United States could be thwarted by its new pesticide rules, a senator warns. Bill C-30, an omnibus bill implementing the spring economic update, passed both the House of Commons and the Senate last week. The legislation includes a change to Canada's Pest Control Products Act that allows cabinet to override Health...
The Holt government is embracing a proposal for more nuclear power in New Brunswick, jumping ahead of its own timeline for evaluating the idea despite N.B. Power’s concerns about the cost to ratepayers. At the release of a new federal nuclear strategy on Monday, Energy Minister René Legacy said that the technology “most assuredly will be part of our future.”...
The officer commanding one of the Canadian Army's leading regular force battalions and the unit's top non-commissioned officer have been removed from their position. Lt.-Col. Jason Hudson and Chief Warrant Officer Kim Doerr, of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton, were apparently forced to step aside over the weekend, several military sources said Tuesday.
A dispute that began with snarky social media posts between Alberta's premier and Calgary's mayor escalated Tuesday into a full on government-to-government standoff. Calgary city councillors voted to reject proposed changes to noise rules ahead of the upcoming Calgary Stampede festival despite a warning letter from Premier Danielle Smith that if changes weren't made by June 30, the province would intervene.
The JS Natori, a newly commissioned warship, embodies the future of Japan’s Self-Defence Force. Built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the frigate has a vertical-launch missile system and can sail in stealth mode. Japan has already sold a fleet of the frigates to Australia and it’s looking for more buyers. Future versions of the ship could also be a potential platform...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Republicans who were berated by President Donald Trump over opposition to his war in Iran held a late-night vote Wednesday to try to appease him, rejecting a war powers resolution a day after a similar measure passed.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- "Would you really like to know?" Sen. Bill Cassidy asked President Donald Trump.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A sprawling legislative package aimed at lowering the cost of housing and spurring more home construction won bipartisan approval from Congress this week, but it's hit a major roadblock in becoming law: President Donald Trump.
NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. gasoline prices decreased an average of 49 cents a gallon in the last month as expectations rose for an end to the war with Iran. But they're not falling fast enough for President Donald Trump.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is saying goodbye to his British counterpart after the two met repeatedly to discuss a shared vision for western countries. Conceding that he had lost the support of the party membership, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Monday he will resign once his Labour Party chooses a new leader. "Throughout, and in the face of exceptional...
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday he is stepping down as leader of the governing Labour Party and will leave office within weeks, forced out by his own party scarcely two years after being elected in a landslide. Starmer says he will remain caretaker prime minister until the party chooses a new Labour leader -- with expectations growing that...
U.S. and Iranian negotiators headed to a Swiss venue Saturday for talks on adding key details to their interim agreement to halt the war, hours after Tehran said it closed the Strait of Hormuz because of Israel’s attacks in Lebanon and warned that little might be achieved if the fighting doesn’t stop. U.S. President Donald Trump, in response, threatened to...
Talks between the U.S. and Iran were called off Friday after intense fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, officials said, raising questions about an initial agreement to end the war in Iran.
Keeping a nuclear weapon out of Iran's hands is 'why this all started,' says Carney. Prime Minister Mark Carney is again praising the new U.S.-Iran peace deal after calling the war "worth it" — if it ensures Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Carney said keeping a nuclear weapon out of Iran's hands was...
Express Entry was never meant to be a Canadian skilled immigration program. It was supposed to be the sorting system layered on top of the existing federal ones.
On June 1, 2026, Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered his first major speech devoted to antisemitism, telling an audience at Toronto’s Holy Blossom Temple that “Canada’s civic compact is failing Jewish Canadians.” The acknowledgement was overdue and, in important respects, welcome. But the speech fell short in others. For instance, the prime minister did not name the movements behind the...
Canada’s impact assessment process is structurally fragmented. A new AI-enabled Sovereign Impact Assessment Agent (SIAA) would speed up assessments and save money by using the federal government’s extensive but fragmented troves of data on Canadian land, water, wildlife and atmosphere to pre-populate assessment applications, identify information gaps and help inform regulators’ final decisions.
A collection of SubStack publishing within Canadian public affairs.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s own department, the Privy Council Office (PCO), has become the bad boy of freedom of information in Canada.
Secrecy surrounding cabinet documents is so absolute in Canada that critics look to theology and astrophysics for metaphors to describe it. Federal cabinet records in Canada are treated as “sacred artefacts to be shrouded in mystery for decades, hidden in a black hole beyond the contemplation of judges, commissioners, or citizens.”
In 2007, Roger Martin, then dean of the Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto, wrote a book called The Opposable Mind. It argued that the most successful leaders tend to be “integrative thinkers,” by which he meant they tackled problems holistically rather than breaking them down into component parts. Instead of seeking trade-offs, they are at ease with...
Progressive Conservative Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston had been one of the most popular politicians in the country. Mark Carney-level popular. Regina George-level popular. For a while, it looked like Nova Scotia would be Houston’s forever. But now his popularity is at its lowest point since he took on the top job. Host Noor Azrieh sits down with his former...
The federal government wants Canada to get back into nuclear energy, pushing to increase nuclear power use and to build and export more Canadian-made nuclear reactors. For the first time in over three decades, a large nuclear reactor is being built in Canada.
It's a very difficult decision to make whether you are a professional athlete or a practising politician. When to retire. But the time comes for everyone, so how do you decide the time has come for you? That's one of the main questions for James Moore and Gerald Butts during their latest "conversation" right here on The Bridge.
Also: so, Britain basically can't govern itself, eh? In today’s episode of On The Line, host Matt Gurney is joined by two guests for conversations about housing, politics, and why governments sometimes struggle to explain themselves.
